|
|
Stockgrowers applaud Senate Appropriations CommitteeSouth Dakota South Dakota Stockgrowers Association applauded Sen. Tim Johnson and other members of the Senate Appropriations Committee for not including language which would prevent the funding of the implementation of USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Act rule. According to Stockgrowers Vice President Shane Kolb, Meadow, S.D., the House, recently passed their appropriations bill with language that prohibited funding for finalization of the GIPSA rule. Kolb stated that the GIPSA rule is the result of a 2008 farm bill directive that required USDA's GIPSA administration to write rules to clarify and provide enforceability of the 91-year-old Packers and Stockyards Act. Kolb said, "This is a huge vote of confidence, from the Senate, for our farmers and ranchers especially in view of the fact that the meat packing industry is working extremely hard to kill this rule. However, we need to be vigilant and supportive of this 2010 Senate Appropriations Bill as it moves through the channels." Stockgrowers were also extremely pleased to learn that the Senate Appropriations Bill did not include the requested $150 million for the Manhattan, Kan., construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, which was to be moved from Plum Island, N.Y. Stockgrowers have long objected to moving such a laboratory to the center of livestock country.
|
|
